The Crucible The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller and, in the Northern production, directed by Deborah Barton-Moore. The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, where suspicions of witchcraft were floating around the town air. The play opens with Betty Parris sick in bed, and Reverend Parris tending to her, and wondering what made her so sick. Soon Abigail Williams saunters in, and through much probing, Reverend Parris eventually finds out that she, Tituba, Susanna Walcott and Betty were all involved together in a secret practicing of witchcraft. Abigail tells of a dance around a cauldron, in the woods, and says that was all that happ